KARACHI: Pakistan's ODI batsman Khalid Latif led Airport Gymkhana to an emphatic victory over Defence Cricket Club in the final of the first Karachi Champions League. Chasing a stiff target of 173 runs Latif hit 7 fours and 7 towering sixers en route to his 56-ball century. One of Latif's hit also broke windshield of a car parked outside the stadium. He was dismissed in the 16th over but the damage was done and Airport Gymkhana overhauled the target in the 18th over.
Earlier with the help of a brisk 63-run knock by Test batsman Faisal Iqbal, Defence club managed to post a challenging score on the board.
After the match, the captain of Defence Club, Mohammad Sami while praising Latif felt that his side should have scored at least 20 more runs. Sami also said that the toss played a vital role because of the dew factor in the second inning. The winning captain Arif Mehmood, on the other hand gave full marks to his opener Khalid Latif. He also urged the PCB to organise clubs tournaments on a national level.
The winning side got an amount of Rs10 million while Rs5 million were given to the runner-up team. Latif’s outstanding knock earned him the man of the match award with a purse of Rs 25,000. Faisal Iqbal who scored 241 runs in the tournament was declared the best batsman of the event and was handed over a cheque of Rs 50, 000. The best bowler award was shared between Umer Farooq (Defence Club) and Tariq Haroon (Airport Gym) as both captured 12 wickets each in the competition, hence the amount of Rs 50,000 was shared amongst them. The award of the best wicketkeeper was given to Naeem Ullah (North Karachi Gym) for his 6 dismissals in the tournament, he also bagged a cheque of Rs 50, 000.
Cash awards were also given to umpires, match referees and scorers. The former City Nazim of Karachi, Syed Mustafa Kamal, gave away all the awards.
Speaking on the occasion, Kamal described the KCL as a very healthy trend which would not only produce talented players for Pakistan's national team but will also keep the youth of the city motivated to do positive things.
Former Pakistan captain and the organiser of the mega league along with the City District Government of Karachi, Rashid Latif thanked the city authorities for practically implementing the idea of the league.
Apart from Syed Mustafa Kamal, Sindh Minister for Sports Dr Muhammad Ali Shah, Sindh Minister for Youth Affairs Faisal Subzwari, MNA Asif Hussain, MPAs, Secretary KCCA, Sirajul Islam Bukhari and others were also present on the occasion. The historic Karachi Champions League came to a close with a spectacular display of fireworks.
SUMMARIESED SCORES
Airport Gymkhana VS Defence Cricket Club at RLCA (Korangi)
Result: Airport won by 5 Wickets
Defence Cricket Club 172/6 in 20 Overs
Faisal Iqbal (63)
Riaz Afridi (22*)
Arif Mehmood (3/17)
Tahir Khan (1/12)
Airport Gymkhana 173/5 in 17.4 Overs
Khalid Latif 100 (7X4, 7X6)
Arif Mehmood 15
Umer Farooq (2/44)
Man of the Match: Khalid Latif (Airport Gymkhana)
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